Coating apparatus

Abstract

The present invention has as an object to provide a coating apparatus for forming a coating film on each of many lenses in a short time. To attain this object, in the coating apparatus for a lens according to the invention, a lens support portion of a lens centering device, a lens support portion of a lens spinning device, and a lens support portion of a lens drying device are arranged at equal distances. A pair of lens holding portions of a lens transport device are provided at the same distance as the distance between the lens support portions. The first lens holding portion of the lens holding portions transports the lens from the lens support portion of the centering device to the lens support portion of the applicator device, and the second lens holding portion of the lens holding portions simultaneously transports the lens from the lens support portion of the applicator device to the lens support portion of the drying device.

1. A coating apparatus for a lens, comprising:
 a centering device for determining a center of a lens; 
 a spinning device for rotating a lens; 
 an applicator device comprising a nozzle for discharging a coating fluid for applying the coating fluid onto the surface of the lens held at the spinning device; 
 a drying device for drying the coating fluid on the surface of the lens; and 
 a lens transport device for transporting the lens from the centering device to the spinning device, and further transporting the lens from the spinning device to the drying device, wherein 
 each of the centering device and the spinning device has a lens support portion, the drying device has plural of lens support portions, the lens transport device has a pair of lens support portions; 
 the lens support portion of the centering device, the lens support portion of the spinning device, one of lens support portions of the drying device, and a pair of lens support portions of the lens transport device are arranged such that these all lens support portions are being located on an identical line and also that the distance between a pair of lens holding portions of the transport device, the distance between the lens support portion of the centering device and the lens support portion of the spinning device, and the distance between the lens support portion of the spinning device and the lens support portion of the drying device are being the same; 
 a first lens support portion of the transport device transports the lens from the lens support portion of the centering device to the lens support portion of the spinning device; and 
 a second lens support portion of the transport device simultaneously transports the lens from the lens support portion of the spinning device to the lens support portion of the drying device. 
 
     
     
       2. The coating apparatus according to  claim 1 , which further comprising a lens height measuring sensor for detecting a height difference between a height at the center of the lens and a height at other point on the lens surface spaced from the center. 
     
     
       3. The coating apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the lens height measuring sensor is equipped with two sets of light emitters and light receivers, and determines a height of the lens by allowing the lens to block light emitted from the light emitter and reaching the light receiver. 
     
     
       4. The coating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle of the applicator device is being moved at a distance from, and along, a straight line connecting the center of the surface of the lens to an edge portion of the surface of the lens. 
     
     
       5. The coating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the drying device comprises a turntable rotatable on an axis of rotation, and a plurality of the lens support portions of the drying device are provided on the turntable to dry a plurality of the lenses. 
     
     
       6. The coating apparatus according to  claim 1 , which further comprising a waiting tank storing a solvent to dip a tip of the nozzle when the applicator device is not in operation. 
     
     
       7. The coating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the coating apparatus is used for primer coating as a pretreatment of photochromic coating of the lens.